Youth sports gear is expensive. Hand-me-downs and Marketplace finds are how a lot of families make it work. Some categories are fine to buy used. Some are not. The list is shorter than parents think.
Almost always fine used.
Cleats and shoes that still have tread, fit the kid, and have not been molded permanently to a different foot. The molded thing matters more than people realize. A shoe that has lived under one kid for six months has shaped to that kid’s strike pattern. Younger feet are forgiving; older feet less so.
Jerseys, practice tops, shorts, socks. Wash and go.
Gloves and mitts in baseball, softball, soccer goalkeeper. Broken-in is a feature, not a bug. Verify there are no broken laces, no mold inside, no foam compression in goalkeeper finger spines.
Bags and equipment carriers. Always.
Tennis rackets, golf clubs, hockey sticks. Inspect for cracks, flex, and grip wear. Replace the grip and you are usually good.
Conditional.
Bats. Used bats are fine if they carry the current certification stamp for your kid’s league: USA Baseball mark for most youth baseball, current USA Softball mark for softball, BBCOR for older age groups. A bat with the pre-2018 BPF 1.15 stamp is not legal in USA Baseball play. Check the league rule packet before you buy.
Shin guards, batting helmets without certification dates, soft padding. Inspect padding for compression. If the foam does not spring back, replace.
Used with caution.
Lacrosse helmets, hockey helmets, lacrosse goggles. These have certification windows and condition that matters. NOCSAE for boys lacrosse, HECC for hockey, ASTM-F3137 for girls lacrosse goggles. If the gear shows the certification stamp and a date inside the window, it is fine. If not, replace.
Almost never used.
Football helmets without verified NOCSAE recertification. The NOCSAE program allows reconditioning by an NAERA-licensed reconditioner up to 10 years from manufacture. A used football helmet without a current recondition date is gear you should not put on a kid’s head. The shell is plastic that fatigues and the padding is foam that compresses.
Catcher’s gear without inspection. Specifically, the throat protector. Cracks here are bad.
Anything with a recall. The Consumer Product Safety Commission maintains a recall database. Search by product name before you hand over cash for a hand-me-down or a Marketplace listing.
The five-minute used-gear inspection.
Look for cracks in any plastic. Compress any foam padding with a thumb; it should spring back fully. Sniff for mold in helmets, gloves, and shoulder pads. Check certification stamps and dates. Try it on the kid before you commit to it.
Used gear is part of the deal in youth sports. It is also where the cost savings real are. The trade is that you do the five-minute inspection that retail does not require. The categories where you do not save money are helmets and bats. Save money on cleats and jerseys. Buy the helmet new.